Report: Federal Employees are Watching Porn on the Job

Nearly 100 federal employees either admitted to watching, or were caught watching extensive amounts of pornography while on the clock over the past five years, according to an investigation by NBC Washington.

The investigation produced reports of the “egregious on-the-job pornography viewing” of federal employees who both consumed the pornographic images and videos in addition to saving tens of thousands of “adult images” on their government computers.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, the investigative team at NBC4 requested records of cases of egregious on-the-job pornography viewing at the following 12 major government agencies:

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

U.S. Department of Transportation

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Postal Service

U.S. Department of Labor

NASA

Export-Import Bank

U.S. Department of Commerce

Social Security Administration

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

At the EPA, inspector general memos described at least two employees at the agency’s D.C. offices admitted viewing large quantities of pornographic material at their work spaces. In one case, the employee acknowledged watching porn for up to six hours a day for “several years.” In the second case, at the agency’s Office of Water on Constitution Avenue, an employee was suspended for five days after being seen watching pornographic videos at a work terminal, reports NBC4.

EPA Deputy Assistant Inspector General Craig Ulmer said these cases constitute time fraud by workers whose salaries are paid by taxpayers.

Given the findings of this investigation, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), chairman of a U.S. House subcommittee overseeing federal employees and misconduct, said federal agencies should consider a zero-tolerance policy for pornography.

“That’s the thing your work has shown," Meadows said to NBC 4. "This is not just an isolated incident at one single agency. We’re starting to find it across almost every agency.”